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Sunday, 6 December 2009

Ski-bi-di-bi-dab-di-bi-dab-di-bi-do

60. De Nada - Love You Anyway - 2001

A bit of a forgotten classic, British garage act De Nada had two UK hits, this and Bring It Onto My Love in 2001. Love You Anyway peaked at #15 but was incredibly underrated in my opinion and very radio friendly. I wasn't a massive fan of UK garage overall but De Nada were also very poppy. The song had a sense of sorrow and sadness to it and was a lot more downbeat that most garage party records. It was an odd hybrid. MC Alistair's rap did its job too, particularly the insanely catchy Ski-bi-di-bi-dab-di-bi-dab-di-bi-do chant!!! One of my favourite songs of that summer.

59. Ian Van Dahl - Will I? - 2001

Following the success of Castles In The Sky, led by guest vocalist Marsha, regular Ian Van Dahl singer, Annemie took over her duties of fronting the Belgian dance act for the second single. Will I was a much more upbeat poppier affair than its predecessor, short and sweet at only two and a half minutes along, but instantly catchy and a worthy successor to Castles...The song was another big hit in the UK, staying in the top ten for quite a few weeks over the busy Christmas 2001 period. I remember being absolutely obsessed with it at the time, and it's still a fantastic Eurodance song.

58. Mariah Carey - We Belong Together - 2005

After the tragedy that was Glitter and the underwhelming Charmbracelet, Mariah Carey's career was on the rocks to say the least. However, against all odds, she stormed back in 2005 rejuvinated and with one of the best albums of her career, The Emancipation of Mimi. Led by the classic Mariah club song, It's Like That, the second single was her best ballad in a long time, We Belong Together. Classic Mariah with great vocals, a brilliant chorus and effective lyrics, it made Mariah relevant again for the first time in quite a few years. The song was a massive #1 in the US, and almost a #1 here, losing out to 2Pac's Ghetto Gospel by a handful of copies. It is easily her defining moment of the noughties though, and no doubt success she hopes to emulate again in the very near future.

57. Fergie - Big Girls Don't Cry - 2007

Stacey Ferguson turned around the fortunes of the commercially faltering Black Eyed Peas. Affectionately known as Fergie, she breathed new life into the experimental electro/hip-hop group who later became famous for their pop smashes Where Is The Love and Shut Up. Fergie is of course now one quarter of the biggest act in the world, as in 2009 Black Eyed Peas' status has elevated to new levels, spending most of the year at #1 in the US, and yo-yoing to and from #1 with three singles in the UK. However, I was not a fan of Fergie's first couple of solo singles, although Glamourous was an improvement on London Bridge. However, third single, Big Girls Don't Cry, won me over on first listen. A gorgeous ballad showcasing off her really quite excellent voice with a fantastic chorus and sentiment. Probably one of the most overplayed songs on the radio in the last two years but it deserves it.

56. Daniel Powter - Bad Day - 2005

Canadian singer/songwriter Daniel Powter would have been the star of summer 2005 if not for his English counterpart James Blunt, whose You're Beautiful always seemed to be one step ahead of Daniel's Bad Day. Between them, they created probably two of my favourite songs of summer 2005, a time period that saw a sudden surge in great music after a largely terrible two years between summer 2003 and summer 2005. A fantastic piano ballad about something that we can all relate to, the song was oddly uplifting at the same time, particularly if listening whilst watching the video. Only a #2 hit here because of James Blunt, it was nevertheless one of the defining European anthems of 2005 and went on to top the US charts in 2006. Shame Daniel was a one hit wonder because both of his albums were actually surprisingly good!!!